TV Cookie Monster awakens some iPhones, iPads surprising AND delighting many users



SEATTLE -- A local woman may have discovered a bug in the latest update for the operating system that runs Apple’s iPhone and iPad and it starts with Cookie Monster.

“Has anyone reported the ability of the Cookie Monster activating Siri and setting a timer for 14 minutes whenever the commercial comes on?” asked Shirley McNeil on Facebook Thursday.

McNeil says she set up the new ‘Hey Siri’ feature which allows her to activate the virtual assistant with just her unique voice and speech pattern.

She made the move after seeing a new advertisement by Apple airing on television and starring Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster.



In the ad, Cookie Monster is seen activating Siri on his iPhone by just speaking and not touching the device.

“Hey Siri, set timer for 14 minutes,” says Cookie Monster after putting a batch of unbaked cookies into the oven.

McNeil says after setting up the feature and matching it to her own voice Siri now activates every time that commercial airs and Cookie Monster says ‘Hey Siri.’

McNeil apparently isn’t alone.

“This happened with my wife’s iPhone as well,” says Guy Maas of Kirkland. “We were cracking up and had to rewind the commercial multiple times to see if it would do it again…and it did.”

Jonathan Prinz says it happened at his house too.

“My son’s phone turned on yesterday once the Cookie Monster came on and said ‘Hey Siri,’ says Prinz. “Only one with the 6S in our family. Thought it was funny.”

Q13 News reached out to Apple for a comment. So far we have not heard back, but on the setup page of its website Apple says in iOS 9 or later, users should follow the onscreen prompts to make their voice more recognizable for "Hey Siri."

“This lowers the chance that other people will accidentally activate Siri on your device,” reads part of the tutorial.

But McNeil and others say they did follow the prompts to ensure their voice was recognizable to Siri.

"My husband's voice will not work," says McNeil.  "It's just me and Cookie Monster."

Marlo Tyler says she and her husband went through the set up process for their iPhones as well but things went awry.

“We stopped using it though because every time I said hey Siri his phone would activate also,” says Tyler. “So it does not seem to only recognize only the persons voice that set it up. It was very frustrating to us so we stopped using it.”